


Red is the Colour

by oddegg



Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Dark, Disturbing Themes, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-30
Updated: 2010-03-30
Packaged: 2017-10-08 13:06:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddegg/pseuds/oddegg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the reboot kink meme, for the prompt: <em>'make Pavel crazy!'</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	Red is the Colour

Spock is uncertain what initially made him pay attention to the young navigator. What made him watch the ensign with a close observation that soon grew into an obsession, but he knows that he was the first to recognise Pavel Andreievich Chekov for what he was.

He found it hard to comprehend how others could not see it as well, and concludes that they must just see the surface; the small, boyishly slim frame, the red gold curls, the innocent smile. They must somehow look into those wide blue eyes and not detect the creeping darkness behind them.

It must be easy to miss things in the tide of gossip and conversation that is always swelling around the ship and maybe that is why no-one else makes the connections between the bits of information there are about Ensign Chekov and sees the pattern underlying them.

Bones speaking to Kirk on the way to the transportation room  
_"The kid's a genius, Jim – I'd listen to his idea. Hell, I heard he'd even have beaten your record for graduating from the Academy if he hadn't missed time transferring from Petersburg to Frisco before his final year" … "Why? Oh, I heard his room mate killed himself – probably felt like a clean break after that"_

Whispers between nurses in the med bay  
_"So sad! He told me that he didn't have many friends still in Russia and then I heard that he used to be at this, like, boarding school for high IQ kids? And just before he left for Starfleet there was a fire in the dorms and hardly any of the kids got out! Such a tragedy – all of his friends and classmates must have been killed" … "No it's not sadder because he's so cute! Sarah, don't be mean! *giggle*"_

Exclamations during meal times  
_"Whoa, dude! You took Meta Electronics with Yates?! Wasn't that the class that those dudes that got done by that psycho were in?" … "Yeah, yeah – this dude called Leiberwitz or something. Him and his buddy were found in this hotel room in the Bay; they'd got like, slashed to bits by this total freak who went and cut his own throat after! I heard he'd, like eaten bits of them!" "…Sorry dude, I forgot – were you guys friends?"_

And Chekov's calm reply _"Nyet. No – they vere not friendly vith me"_

They don't appear to notice that Chekov's answer does not quite fit their question. The humans on this ship must be very stupid, Spock decides.

He becomes more fascinated with the young man the more he studies him, and he begins to think that Chekov is not only aware of his regard but knows the reason for it. Their gazes meet sometimes and the Russians face will go blank, his eyes still and watchful, and it is almost as though he is doing Spock the courtesy of dropping the veil of cheerful enthusiasm he normally hides behind. Acknowledging him and letting him see through the mask.

It gives Spock something to think about, to muse over in his quarters when he is off shift. Something else to occupy his mind other than thinking about the destruction of his planet, his people – the sudden severing that has left him apart from anyone that might understand him, adrift in a sea of complicated emotions and reactions that at times threaten to swamp him.

He doesn't know how to cope with the rage and blackness that come over him then and so he tamps them down, pushes them away deep inside and considers the problem of Ensign Chekov.

Because he is uncertain what to do. There is something wrong with the young Russian, some thing inside him that is bright and sharp and twisted, and Spock knows that he could pose a danger to the ship; certainly to its crew. Though when he thinks about their grinning, laughing stupidity he finds it hard to care.

And so he is still undecided as to his course of action the day he notices Chekov in the line for the mid shift meal. The boy is with a crowd of other young crew members, some security officers with them, and the group is loud and raucous and disturbing the quiet calm of Spock's own meal. He gets up to leave and as he approaches the group he notices that one man has singled Chekov out for attention that is bordering on offensive. He calls the navigator 'pretty boy' and gives him a slap on the back that is just too hard to be friendly and shoves the youth hard into the counter before him.  
The man's friends remonstrate with him and he protests that he is 'only playing' while Spock marvels that none of them can see the hate in Chekov's eyes behind his smile.

The boy's dislike is understandable. Spock's sudden irrational rage at the man for touching him is less so and before he is able to follow his own thoughts he has stopped in front of them and is addressing the security officer directly  
"Officer Bates, when you have finished your meal there is an away team needed for a scientific exploration of the planet. Be ready to beam down with Ensigns Miller and Sagawi"

The man salutes him and Spock goes to leave, then turns as though in apparent afterthought  
"Ensign Chekov, perhaps you would like to accompany the team?" he meets the boy's eyes and says with deliberation "There should not be any difficulties, as far as we know the planet is safe"

His eyes flick briefly to Bates and he sees the understanding flare in Chekov's eyes. The smile the boy gives him has an edge of glee to it.

He hears Bates' mutter of 'Commander's pet' behind him as he leaves and feels no qualm about what he has just done.

He feels no surprise when he learns later that Officer Bates died unexpectedly on the planet. A rock fall apparently, the man's neck was wounded by one of the ultra sharp shards that rained down on him and was dead before Miller and Sagawi could reach them. Spock is told he bled out in Chekov's arms.

The bridge crew are very careful around the boy when he comes back on duty, his own face showing remarkably few cuts and bruises from the accident. Spock meets his eyes and nods – and Chekov calmly nods back.

* * *

There are a few more incidents after that. An accident in engineering with an Officer that Spock had observed showed racial prejudice towards Russians – the man is found electrocuted next to the panel he had been working on. Another security officer is discovered dead in her room when the climate control malfunctions and the oxygen level drops in the night – Spock never knew what she had done to offend Chekov.

The most audacious one was on another planet exploration, when the away team again got separated and came back with one less live body than when they left. An animal must have been responsible, Spock is told by the shocked medical officer who examines the body, as the man had been nearly ripped apart. Parts were even missing – presumed eaten – including the eyes.

That had made Spock curious enough to ask casually, as he and the Ensign took the turbo lift to the bridge  
"May I enquire how you kept yourself free from bloodstains, Mr Chekov?"

Chekov showed no sign of surprise that the unspoken understanding between them had been voiced and merely answered cheerfully  
"I first took off my uniform. Stains underneath ver not noticeable vonce I washed my hands and face"

They reached the bridge and Chekov moved to his post, shooting Spock a smile that showed his small, sharp teeth.

* * *

It is bad luck that finally catches the navigator out. One half of the away team gets into trouble planet side and Scotty makes the decision to transport the whole team back before Spock can stop him.

Chekov still has one hand in Georgia Fleming's hair and another around the handle of the knife buried in her chest as their energy signatures shimmered and solidified. He stills at the shocked cries from around him and cocks his head to one side – then after a long moment he shrugs and lets the woman drop. He smiles happily when the security officers burst into the room in answer to Scotty's urgent hail and says  
"Oh vell. It vas fun while it lasted!"

He starts to laugh as he is hauled out of the room, and Spock notices that Chekov sends him a flicker of a wink as he passes.

Spock doesn't comprehend what it means until a whole shift later, when everyone's shocked and disbelieving speculations are interrupted by the alarm call that makes them aware the med bay has somehow sealed itself off.

Two hours after that he is standing by a furious and frantic Kirk as Scotty – sweating and swearing and barely hiding his panic – confirms that he's traced the fault back to a heavily guarded programme installed by one Ensign Pavel Chekov, that if anyone tries to force their way in or out a carefully lined up set of booby traps would release flammable gas in the bay and instantly ignite it, that as far as he could tell the programme had been in place, dormant, for months, and that he was a long way off working out a way round it.

Spock felt no small sense of awe at the ingenuity of it. The sheer complexity of it was beautiful, and he rages inwardly when Kirk produced a way round it – especially when the Captain demands his assistance in destroying what Chekov had built.

* * *

He sends the guards out of the holding cell, staring blankly at them when they protest and informing them coolly that as Ensign Chekov remained behind the set of bars dividing the room, and that as he was in any case proportionally stronger than any human he would be quite safe.

He knows the men hovered outside the door though, and so he can not speak as freely as he wished. He turns towards the relaxed, smiling figure of the man who has been his fascination and, in some way, his conspirator, puts his hands behind his back and says bluntly  
"The Captain wishes to know how to disable the booby trap you have placed on the medical deck to prevent access. He has asked me to perform a mind meld, with or without your permission"

Chekov blinks those childish eyes back at Spock and nods  
"_Da_. I understand. It is sensible ov the Keptain to utilize resources he haz"

"I do not wish to do so"

Chekov's eyebrows fly up and he hurries to protest  
"But Kommander! We are only a brief flight time from the new Wulcan colony! If you do not, Keptain will ask that someone there does" his eyes are very wide as he adds delicately "And that – it vud be dangerous"

Oh yes. It would be dangerous. Both because another Vulcan searching through Chekov's mind would be bound to discover his link with Spock, and because Spock would be forced to kill them for touching what, in some obscure way, he now feels is his.

He gives a short nod of his head and raises his right hand to reach through the bars. Chekov comes closer and says very softly, just before Spock touches his face  
"Make it hurt"

 

_\- - - black - everything black around him, struck through with red the colour of old blood - laughter, high and clear around him, gleeful with an insane amusement - flash of a face, young and male and terrified - feel of teeth biting down - the surprising amount of strength needed to bite through the - mouth filled with a warm, iron taste - the pop of something round and glutinous against the tongue - warmth gushing over hands - sogood sogood sogood - no, this is not what he wants, he wants - the rub of groin against flesh as the body underneath bucks and tries to twist away from the blade - heat of fire on face, cooking flesh in the nose - NO! not that, he wants - little mewls of pain so delicious in the air, they - he lashes out, feels the harsh strike in the other, in himself, feels the want for more, in the other, in himself - feels realherenow body pleasure - feels the other cry out, sharp teeth into lip, blood on othershis tongue - feels ecstasy spike, rush hotcoldyes out of him - and image now of metal, electronics, whirling data - time ticking down, fire raining down, bodies burning and screaming, world burning down - yesyesyesyes - and the other clenched tight and nownownow letting go as everything ends like it was planned - - -_

 

Spock broke free with a harsh intake of breath and watches with a heaving chest as Chekov's eyelids fluttered and the boy gives a small moan as he slowly licks blood off the lip he has nearly bitten through during the meld. Spock feels a tremor interrupt the quiet hum of the ship and as the emergency sirens begin to blare Chekov opens languid, heavy lidded eyes and a small smile creeps onto his face as he stares back at Spock.

Spock gazes back for a long silent moment and then turns to leave. He is at the door when he hears Chekov say with quiet amusement behind him  
"Say 'hello' to the Keptain for me"

* * *

Everyone was dead of course. Spock had known that before he left Chekov's cell, and he watches and assists with the clear up in silence and with a blank face.

At one point, after he informs him in a low voice that this was what Chekov had planned all along the Captain shouts at him, cries  
"For fucks sake, you bastard! Don't you _care_?! Do you feel nothing over this?!"

The crew members around them back away as Spock lets himself glare back with burning eyes at this stupid, emotional human. Kirk's face suddenly crumples and he says in a broken voice  
"Sorry. I'm sorry; I know that isn't true – I know you feel something. It's just that… Oh Jesus, Bones…"

Spock watches as Kirk collapses, slides down the nearest wall and puts his face in his hands, which are black with ash and blood.

He waits a beat and then raises an eyebrow at the staring crew members until they get back to work, then joins them himself. As he helps to shift a panel up so that the body underneath, charred and unrecognisable, can be removed he finds that he is feeling a quite strong emotion.

It's just not any of the one's he believes Kirk meant.

* * *

None of the ships primary functions were damaged by the destruction of the med bay, and in the end it takes them very little time to make their way back to Earth.

A prison transporter shuttle docks with them whilst they're in orbit and Spock is the only one of the main crew to accompany the guards who have arrived to transfer Chekov for trial.

He has been the only one to go to the boy's cell during the journey back as well, though they conversed very little during his visits. Chekov expresses his gratitude anyway as the guards remove him from his cell and shackle him.

The boy is rather subdued in comparison to his usual mien   
"Thank you for your wisits Kommander. They helped me much. I do not know where I vill be taken after this but perhaps vhen it is settled… perhaps you could come and see me again if possible?"

He looks up and behind the mask of contrition Spock sees the flickers of that blank, cold fire he has sensed in Chekov always. The Ensign gives him a last small smile and adds  
"Maybe you will have some interesting experiments to tell me about, yes?"

Spock gives him a nod as the guards jerk him away to the turbo lift. He stays gazing at the doors for a long time after they shut off his sight of that angelic, innocent face and then he turns away to go back to his station, his mind working.

Yes. He would have to take great care about it. Be logical and use his full intelligence to ensure that no suspicion was raised. But…he thought he might have something to interest Chekov the next time they met.


End file.
